Food poisoning.

[Lisbon2022]

I am in the middle of Venetoclax treatment for my cll, I contactedfood poisoning Sunday. I am still quite ill. I assume my cll is affecting my recovery? Hopefully this gets better?

[SofiaDeo]

The CLL per se isn't doing/interfering with anything.

If your immunity is impaired because of the CLL, and you are fighting off an infection, or trying to clear up an infection, many of us may have prolonged healing times because our immune system isn't working like should. The severity & extent of any "immune impairment" is pretty specific to every individual. The only consensus I am seeing, is that when we get infections it would not be considered unusual to need longer treatment than the "average person" with the same symptoms or bloodwork, or take longer to heal.

[Lisbon2022 in reply to SofiaDeo]

Thank you. Yes it takes longer to recoverfrom everything.

[SofiaDeo in reply to Lisbon2022]

The only thing I can recommend, is that if salicylates aren't contraindicated, Pepto Bismol or another GI med containing bismuth may be helpful. If it's the type of food poisoning where dead bacteria proteins were in the food, and are irritating the GI tract & causing diarrhea, the bismuth sticks to the wounds in the GI tract so the gut can heal. It also can stick to certain proteins of the bacteria they need to function. Some bacterial proteins are called "endotoxins" because even though the bacteria may be dead, their peices of proteins/cell walls are toxic/irritating. Live bacteria can also have endotoxins. Sometimes the bismuth is working against live bacteria, by preventing the bacteria from adhering to the GI cell walls, as well as the bismuth interfering with bacterial cell processes.

Since the salicylate part of the pill/liquid is absorbed into the bloodstream, people who have been warned not to take aspirin, should only use these under a doctors supervision, even though the medicine is OTC. If your platelets are holding steady on the venetoclax, this may be an option. There's some research into considering continuous low dose bismuth salts for low grade GI irritation from some diseases. The malabsorption and dehydration problems alone from a low grade GI tract irritation are being thought to contribute to poor health. Bismuth is also being explored for other diseases/uses.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

sciencedirect.com/science/a...

pubs.rsc.org/en/content/art...

[Poodle2]

Sorry you are going through this...are you able to hold liquids in? How is your stool - any traces of blood? Fever? Pain? If you struggle to hold liquids in or if there are traces of blood in your stool, fever, etc. you should contact your GP. If neither of these are an issue, I would say to just take it easy. Try to get some electrolytes (you can buy some more pleasant flavours than the usual dioralyte online). It takes longer to get over everything while on treatment so just give yourself some time. I had gastroenteritis 3x while on Venetoclax and Obinutuzumab and also had a the awful luck of dealing with salmonela when my daughter became extremely sick last year in summer. Don't underestimate it if you have any worrying symptoms, it's always better to be checked by a doctor. They should run a stool sample really if possible. Hope you start turning the corner soon.

[Lisbon2022 in reply to Poodle2]

Thank you so much for all your help.